Acacia praelongata F.Muell., Australas. Chem. Druggist 6: 32 (1883)
Trees 4–6 m tall with pendulous branches. Bark hard, furrowed. Branchlets glabrous. Phyllodes pendulous, lax, narrowly linear, shallowly curved, 12–24 cm long, 1–3.5 mm wide, obtuse with small uncinate mucro overtopping small gland, glabrous, 3-nerved with midrib the most prominent; basal gland near pulvinus. Inflorescences 1–3 per axil, 10–18-headed racemes; raceme axes 3–15 cm long, glabrous; peduncles 6–13 mm long, glabrous; heads globular, 5 mm diam., 20–25-flowered, pale yellow. Flowers 5-merous; sepals free. Pods narrowly oblong, slightly raised over and irregularly constricted between seeds, straight, to 14.5 cm long, 12–14 mm wide, firmly chartaceous, openly reticulate, glabrous. Seeds oblique, broadly elliptic, 6.5 mm long, dull dark brown, exarillate.
Occurs in north-western N.T., including Melville Is., S to near Katherine. Grows in gravelly red earth and lateritic soil, scattered in open forest and woodland.
Related closely to the variable Arid Zone species A. murrayana which is most readily distinguished by its 1-nerved phyllodes and mostly shorter racemes. There is a very superficial resemblance to the more southerly distributed A. dolichophylla which has phyllodes with a delicately acuminate, non-glanduliferous apex, appressed-hairy branchlets, shorter racemes and narrower pods.
Type of accepted name
Adams Bay, N.T., A.C.Hulls ; lecto: MEL, fide R.S.Cowan & B.R.Maslin, Nuytsia 10: 81 (1995); isolecto: K, PERTH (Fragment ex MEL); south of Port Darwin (near Elizabeth R.), N.T., July 1883, P.H.M.Foelsche ; paralecto: MEL, PERTH (Fragment ex MEL); ‘Ac. praelongata. Pt. Darwin’ (in Mueller’s hand; no other details); ?paralecto: MEL, PERTH (Fragment ex MEL).
Illustrations
F.Mueller, Iconogr. Austral. Acacia dec. 6, [pl. 4] (1887); J.Brock, Top End Native Pl. 72 (1988).
Representative collections
N.T.: Cobourg Penin., G.M.Wightman 129 & C.R.Dunlop (PERTH); 25 km SE of Darwin, G.Wightman 1666 (PERTH).
(RSC & BRM)
The information presented here originally appeared on the WATTLE CD-ROM which was jointly published by the Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra, and the Department of Parks and Wildlife, Perth; it was produced by CSIRO Publishing from where it is available for purchase. The WATTLE custodians are thanked for allowing us to post this information here.
